Having listened to Super Eagles winger Chinedu Obasi’s interview, one thing stood out to me like a sore thumb. Whilst not quoting him verbatim, the afcon 2010 ace said that what offended him most was that he was had already paid his dues by the time he was allegedly asked for a quid pro quo to feature for Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He said he has already served Nigeria diligently with injuries and medals to show for his efforts, hence asking for bribe at that stage of his career was unacceptable and deeply hurtful to him – something he took deeply personal. Now, that got me thinking. If he was still a player seeking his first big breakthrough, would he still have found the bribery request unacceptable? Would that explain why he featured and found favour in various under aged teams? The same teams that many well meaning Super Eagles supporters have accused of being criminally overaged? The same under 20 and Under 23 teams whose coach is currently serving a lifetime ban by FIFA for corruption? According to the scriptures: let he who has no sin be the first to throw a stone.
It won't be long before Obasi and his former fellow youth Internationals would be asked to confirm the difference between real age and football age.
The truth of the matter is that the system is riddled and rotten to the core with corruption at an industrial scale. From the coach allegedly asking for bribe, to the players, journalists and agents allegedly offering (and giving) bribe to administrators allegedly criminally influencing team selections, they are all birds of the same feathers who flock together producing criminally-tainted eggs. Now, the fact that these allegations are coming out is a good thing. Today it is the coaches at the firing line, tomorrow it will be the turn of the players to start to explain/defend themselves. Slowly but surely, they will all turn against each. Then fans will finally see what these people have been up to behind closed doors.